disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Where are you and where are you going?
ertyu
Posts: 2893
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2016 2:31 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by ertyu »

disk_poet wrote:
Sun Oct 25, 2020 2:10 am
"Enjoy the journey" ... is one of the skills/traits that I want to develop but I am stumped on how to go about it.
As a depressed fuck, I have done a lot of reading around this. The consensus seems to be:

(1) As you go through your day, stop to notice things that are nice and that you like. Examples include the sky being pretty, the wind feeling nice, how your cat is next to you and your teamug is steaming as you write (the book author had a cat and liked tea), etc. The goal here is to train yourself to (1) stop, (2) notice nice things, (3) experience nice feeling. You're literally trying to form a neurological habit here to counteract the automatic focus on the negative we come with bc evolution thought it would be nice to watch out for tigers.

Sub-tip from CBT, if the acronym gives you cognitive behavioral therapy and not cock-and-ball torture vibes: CBT claims that when you're training mental habits, it works better if you make a note of how many times you did the thing and keep a log. There are apps for this, or you can make tally marks in a small notebook you carry in your back pocket, but the recommendation is to literally get an old school mechanical clicker counter so you associate a tactile and a sound element with having done the thing. Noticed clouds - check. Over time, the log you keep of "times-per-day i did the thing" should show evidence of progress which should please and motivate you. If I went this route, I personally wouldn't use an app because I don't want to create an association between success at a task and feeling good on the one hand and the act of pulling out my phone on the other, but you do you.

(2) Self-reward intermediate progress. This comes in two varieties:
(2.1) Self-reward intermediate steps. When you are on the right track, tell yourself you're on the right track and feel good. This could either be when you're in the middle of a project or when you've had a set-back but you're still on the right track and things aren't completely fucked up. For instance, tell yourself, "It's (still) good I stuck with this for half an hour" or "I did well to have made my bed." The key here is not to tell yourself you're great or the best or whatever but literally that you approve of having done a thing, that it was a good thing to have done (that part of) it, that it works out nice now that the kitchen sink is clean and has no dishes in it, etcetera. "I'm on the right track" "at least i'm not still wallowing in bed" etc.
(2.2) If you do something that's a major milestone, self-reward like whoa. The goal here is to give yourself the good chemicals. Made it to the gym where before you were self-conscious about going there as a fat fuck? Mastered a skill, completed a project? Tell yourself you did an awesome job. Laugh. Do a "yessss" pump thing.

The key is not to lie to yourself. You made it out the door but you feel like you should be able to do more? "I should be able to do more, but I still did well to have put on my running shoes and gotten out" etc.

Hope it helps.
Last edited by ertyu on Sun Oct 25, 2020 9:03 am, edited 1 time in total.

Mae
Posts: 107
Joined: Wed Dec 27, 2017 3:44 am
Location: Belgium

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by Mae »

disk_poet wrote:
Sun Oct 25, 2020 2:10 am
"Enjoy the journey" is a very good point and something I struggle with. I think it is one of the skills/traits that I want to develop but I am stumped on how to go about it. (...) Do you have any insights here? Is that something that comes easy to you? Thanks again for the nudge.
Honestly, it is something I struggle with myself. I tend to look towards the future and how to improve my current situation. Meditation has not helped me in this regard.

I think actively making time to reflect is a thing that works. Flip through your journal. See how far you've come.

I also make time for certain activities that do nothing to help me go forward, but that I find enjoyable, like a long, relaxing shower.

Have conversations with people that are different from you in this aspect. We often cluster together in echo chambers.
Last edited by Mae on Sun Oct 25, 2020 8:35 am, edited 1 time in total.

Mae
Posts: 107
Joined: Wed Dec 27, 2017 3:44 am
Location: Belgium

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by Mae »

Cock-and-ball torture after appreciating clouds. Check.

ertyu
Posts: 2893
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2016 2:31 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by ertyu »

It was supposed to be a joke about how much I dislike CBT :lol:. It really does not work well with my personality type (INFP) but I do include the tools because many of the engineering/quantified self types find them useful, grounding, and comforting.

Mae
Posts: 107
Joined: Wed Dec 27, 2017 3:44 am
Location: Belgium

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by Mae »

I'm sorry, I have a bad habit of purposely misinterpreting somebody's post for the sake of comic relief :D

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

@Mae, @ertyu: Thanks for your comments!
Mae wrote:
Sun Oct 25, 2020 8:34 am
Cock-and-ball torture after appreciating clouds. Check.
I've been catching up backwards because I thought there was only 1 new post, so I had no context when this comment came up :D. Made for a good moment of confusion and a laugh afterwards.
Mae wrote:
Sun Oct 25, 2020 8:30 am
Honestly, it is something I struggle with myself. I tend to look towards the future and how to improve my current situation. Meditation has not helped me in this regard.

I think actively making time to reflect is a thing that works. Flip through your journal. See how far you've come.

I also make time for certain activities that do nothing to help me go forward, but that I find enjoyable, like a long, relaxing shower.

Have conversations with people that are different from you in this aspect. We often cluster together in echo chambers.
I do find that reflecting backwards and seeing how far I've come is satisfying and it helps me deal with a bad self image and puts things in perspective. The issue there is then that I am still conditioning myself on "success" and immediately start thinking how I can improve the situation or keep it going. I think this mental jump is what I want to cut out.

I like your point re echo chambers. That is definitely something I could try. Also making time for enjoyable experiences is a good one. I did wellness hours a while back where I tried to just relax, do some reading, take a shower, listen to some music. I think I could give those a more concerted efforts.
ertyu wrote:
Sun Oct 25, 2020 7:53 am
As a depressed fuck, I have done a lot of reading around this. The consensus seems to be:

[...]

Hope it helps.
First of all: Thanks for taking the time and writing such a detailed suggestion! Sadly CBT gave me Cognitive Behavioral Therapy vibes because I've read some books and listened to David Burns podcast for a while. I did forget about the two techniques you mentioned, so that was a really good suggestion. I find CBT helpful (I guess I am an engineering/quantified-self type). It is a model that fits my thought processes and I can latch onto but I think it is also lacking (for me) because I it kind of keeps me in the same thought processes and engineering-type solutions. Maybe that's why @Mae's comment about echo chambers hit me. It feels like I am moving around on the same segment of the curve, finding a local maximum but never shaking things up. Anyway... I seem to digress. I might do the click counter thing and I am with you on the app. I do something similar on the phone but it's more for daily chores and I think reaching for an app is my "usual" solution which I want to get away from.

I'm glad you guys latched onto this part of my last entry. I think it's a big part of my life that often falls by the wayside. Sure I'd love to get my savings rate up, learn more skills, etc. but I am quite confident that over time I would be able to make progress there. Turning it into an enjoyable experience... not so much. To be fair: That sounds pretty dark and it really isn't. I've been enjoying learning new skills (baking is fun) and going through the process but being aware of the joy is hard for me.

ertyu
Posts: 2893
Joined: Sun Nov 13, 2016 2:31 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by ertyu »

Hmmm exactly the reason why cbt doesn’t work for me. On a level it’s like glorified escapism, do the exercises so you don’t have time to sit stare at the mirrror and confront your truth and your fears. Good luck with wherever your self discover journey takes you

Mae
Posts: 107
Joined: Wed Dec 27, 2017 3:44 am
Location: Belgium

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by Mae »

disk_poet wrote:
Mon Oct 26, 2020 2:08 am
The issue there is then that I am still conditioning myself on "success" and immediately start thinking how I can improve the situation or keep it going. I think this mental jump is what I want to cut out.
Let me know if you found something that works :D

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

Review October 2020

October was a mixed month for me. The COVID situation is stressful and a lot of people I know are loosing work. Thankfully no fatalities yet although the numbers are dramatically going up in Germany. It makes me sad and anxious. So far I’ve been spared but i can see some signs at the horizon that 2021 will be a difficult year. Also I am emotionally challened by the dark months of the year. It costs me a lot of energy to be active and in a stable mood during this time. On the postive side: I feel like i’ve made some progress on my ERE goals. Got a tax refund and have been managing to be more active the last 2 weeks. I also applied for a research position at the university which will be 1 day a week. It doesn’t pay well but it diversifies my income a little and also being employed by the university comes with some benefits like access to libraries, magazines, training and good internet. I could also see teaching at the university to be a good ERE income in the later phases of my ERE plan since it is seasonal and is naturally limited in time, keeps me connected to the next generations so I don’t become an old grumpy person (or maybe it will accelerate that process :D) and education is something that I generally believe is a good thing (although I don’t always agree with the methods and priorities of the current system). On the downside, swapping out freelance work for worse paid university work will lower my income. But I think these constraints are a good thing. It will force me to move in a direction of consuming less. It doesn’t feel like the best timing of earning less but I think that is also my fear talking. I don’t think it will ever be a good time.

Goals

Completed
  • Empty out my cellar
  • Switch buying pattern to mostly used items (double down on current effort)
  • Cancel 2 subscriptions
  • Bake another type of bread https://imgur.com/a/taWJEaT
  • Increase cycling
Progress
  • Empty out cabin - I’ve actually removed 75% of the things, so I’m counting this as progress
Facepalm
  • Come up with stretching/mobility routine (less pain) - I got two books but haven’t really done a lot with them
  • Increase running - I ran half the distance, doesn’t feel like progress
Financials
  • No major/unexpected expenses
  • Got a tax refund of 125% my monthly income. That was nice and helped my savings rate (but not as much as I’d hoped)
  • Savings rate: 73.36%
  • Cancelled 2 subscriptions
Reduction
  • Nothing major except the cellar which was a big one. I sold a few small things.
Health
  • Running: 36 KM
  • Cycling: 215 KM
  • Had my quarterly checkup and have to see some specialists to follow up on issues. Hopefully nothing bad but I am a bit worried. Also got some bloodwork done and waiting for results.
  • I got two books re mobility and health but have not spent a lot of time with them. Instead spent time gaming and watching TV. Not great.
ERE Skills
  • Salvaged some stuff from the street
  • Signed up for a free cargo bike sharing service
  • Baked a new type of bread and found a shop with reasonably priced ingredients
  • Found a good cookie recipe which can be made in batch to substitute buying sweets
  • Started looking into parts for my cabin esp. in relation to heating and water pumps (Inspired by @AxelHeyst’s comments re footpumps)
Goals for November 2020
  • Cancel 1 subscription (Financials)
  • Clear out cabin (Reduction)
  • Sort through & get rid of stuff from cellar that I moved into flat (Reduction)
  • Get a handle on water & electricty usage (begin tracking) (Reduction, ERE Skills, Financials)
  • Make follow-up appointments at doctors (Health)
  • Run at least 50 KM (Health)
  • Cycle at least 250 KM (Health)
  • Try to find a routine for being more present in the moment/grateful (Enjoyment)

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

This week has been challenging. I've done some running so that feels good and I started tracking water & electricity usage. I also got an offer for the job at the university but it's very little pay (and I still have to accept). On the other hand my biggest client just did an unexpectedly large downsizing so more people are loosing their job and the team that I am employed in will seize to exist next month which means I will probably not be working for them from beginning of next year. That will be a huge blow to my income and potentially ERE plans. Although on the other hand: It might just speed things up. I plan on taking care of myself this weekend and then transition into problem solving mode. I kind of panicked when I heard and am still a bit paralyzed but I think there are also opportunities for change, developing empathy and growing as a person. I will try to focus on those and not let fear get the best of me, which incidentally is something I wanted to work on anyway. Now I get a real world chance...

Thanks for reading.
Last edited by disk_poet on Tue Nov 17, 2020 2:20 am, edited 1 time in total.

wolf
Posts: 1102
Joined: Fri Jan 06, 2017 5:09 pm
Location: Germany

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by wolf »

demand for IT work in Germany is huge. If you performed well in the past (which I assume), you should not have a problem finding the next gig. Nevertheless that means change and one has to adapt. Take care and I wish you the best findung a path forward!

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

@wolf: Thanks for pointing that out. I know that on a rational level and I have gotten very positive feedback basically all throughout my career. However: I also have imposter syndrome (like a lot of people I know who didn't take a straight career path) and am generally not great with change. I think if I look at it from a rational standpoint it isn't a big problem but emotionally it will take me some time to get there. In the end I think it will be positive (knock on wood). Thanks for saying that and reinforcing the rational brain of me.

Mae
Posts: 107
Joined: Wed Dec 27, 2017 3:44 am
Location: Belgium

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by Mae »

I find that I often hold myself to higher standards than my employers do. It might be the same for you. If you got positive feedback, you better believe it :D

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Review November 2020

Post by disk_poet »

Review November 2020

November saw some changes. My biggest client did some downsizing and my situation regarding working with them next year is up in the air. It also affected a lot of people that I have been working with for years and became friends with over the years so it was and is very emotional because I care about them. People loosing a job of 20 years on short notice is though. I think i’ve carried myself well but it was tough and there were some days in there where I wasn’t my usual self. In addition to that the end of the year is always busy because projects wrap up and people want to finish stuff. I had a bit of a panic of not having work in January but have since talked myself out of it. Worst case I have to use my savings in the bank but given the workload in November and December I actually have some buffer to smooth over January and February. This means I have some time to deal with the situation once the crazy has died down a bit. I also started a new research job at the university in December. This will give me at least some amount of income (probably a little less than 1 JAFI after taxes and stuff). I’ve made some progress on the emotional side. I had a good chat with my parents regarding our relationship and it went quite well. I think I turned a corner here and hope things will become more open and honest in the future. I also found a new running partner so my running has been much more consistent and talking to a new person in COVID times was really nice. It feels like most social interaction has basically stalled or was limited to existing friends. Given the crazyness of the month I was quite happy with my progress. I’ve managed to keep expenses relatively on the low end (still a lot of room for improvement) and actually exceeded my savings rate goal of 40% by almost 5%. This month won’t be that good though because of donations and some presents. I think my focus for this month is to wrap up the cleaning out of the basement (meaning getting rid of all the stuff on ebay) and the shed and keeping a good mental and physical routine. I am lacking energy right now for deeper thinking but hope that after christmas things will slow down a bit and I can do some planning for 2021.

Goals

Completed
  • Cancel 1 subscription (Financials)
  • Get a handle on water & electricty usage (begin tracking) (Reduction, ERE Skills, Financials)
  • Run at least 50 KM (Health)
Progress
  • Make follow-up appointments at doctors (Health) - Made 1 appointment
  • Clear out cabin (Reduction) - Got rid of two big bags
  • Sort through & get rid of stuff from cellar that I moved into flat (Reduction) - Sold roughly 30%
Facepalm
  • Try to find a routine for being more present in the moment/grateful (Enjoyment) - This is hard for me. I always seem to get distracted.
  • Cycle at least 250 KM (Health) - I cycled 100km… didn’t feel it in the cold
Financials
  • No major/unexpected expenses
  • Savings rate: 44,5% (This is more than I anticipated, which is a nice surprise)
  • Cancelled 2 subscriptions
  • My goal for this year was a 40% savings rate. If I take out the two biggest outliers (positive and negative) I am there. This gives me hope I can get there.
Reduction
  • I took out two big bags of trash at the cabin
  • I sold about 30% of the stuff that I salvaged from the cellar. Hopefully I can get rid of the rest of it this month.
Health
  • Running: 157 KM
  • Cycling: 107 KM
  • Running went great, thanks to my new running partner which is my next door neighbour.
  • Cycling didn’t go so well. a.) I’ve realized that it’s hard to run and bike and get decent recovery in b.) I’m really not that motivated to ride in cold wind & weather
  • I signed up for a half marathon on december 27th
  • I still don’t have a great routine for mobility and injury prevention. I’m struggling with routines around the house.
ERE Skills
  • I resisted the tempation to order food quite a often and instead opted for cooking. There seems to be an upward trajectory here in favor of cooking.
  • I didn’t buy anything new
  • I started tracking electricty and water usage to hopefully optimize these over time
Goals for December 2020
  • Cancel 1 subscription (Financials)
  • Finish clearing out cabin (Reduction)
  • Finish selling stuff from cellar (Reduction)
  • Make follow-up appointments at doctors (Health)
  • Run Half Marathon (Health)
  • Try to develop some routines at home (Enjoyment)

Cheepnis
Posts: 303
Joined: Mon Dec 31, 2018 11:52 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by Cheepnis »

Good job on the running and cycling and getting a running partner! Pretty impressive numbers. I'd like to be posting digits like that, but I'm not tough enough to get out that much while working :lol: I know the health benefits come at much lower numbers so I console myself that way. I used to have a couple different running buddies, but haven't had any in several years now, which funnily enough, coincides with much greater inconsistency running.

I stretch after my runs. I'm extremely inflexible, always have been, and unless my body is extremely warm I'm not accomplishing much when stretching. I don't know anything about recommended best practices for injury prevention in regards to running, but the after run stretch seems to treat me good. The only injury I've ever gotten running is turf-toe.

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

@Cheepnis, thanks for the comment. I attribute these numbers to running with a partner and not having to convince myself to go on a long run by myself. I'm also not sure from a efficiency standpoint I am doing the best thing but I am ok with this. I'm reading your journal and you seem to be pretty consistent with running and also doing projects which I find super impressive.

Stretching after is a good point. Esp. on long runs I am too lazy/exhausted to stretch. Maybe I can try to come up with a routine on the shorter ones and then it can become second nature. Thanks for the hint :)

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

Review December 2020

I’m generally not a winter person but knowing that, I feel like I handled myself well this month. Work wise it was the usual crazyness until the holidays. The holidays dragged on a bit and with the lockdown and isolation it wasn’t super relaxing or productive. But there were also some nice moments especially in the beginning. It was an interesting experiment in some sense because I feel with being on an ERE trajectory this is something I would have to deal with. I wouldn’t be physically isolated but my current friend-/peergroup would still be working/busy. I think that is something to reflect on.

It didn’t feel like a very ERE focused month. There was just too much other stuff going on. I am also realizing that I need to balance the financial part of ERE more with personal development/feeling good about myself. My whole idea for semi-ERE is that enables the good life without sacrificing 10 or 15 years of grind to then be FI. I think I am still too low on the Wheaton scale to fully embrace a holistic ERE-lifestyle. One question I am struggling with for example is if I want to go back to university to get a masters. I found a course that would interest me and would fit my lifestyle (few very intense in person days interrupted by self-study) but it would basically set me back half a year of savings. What’s worse is that it has not a direct relationship to my work since it’s more related to philosophy. On the flipside: I always had studying philosophy on my bucket list and this is basically a hybrid between philosophy and economics which is exactly what interests me and what prevented me from doing pure philosophy or pure economics. I think I need to mull on that. I’d have to get accepted too.. it’s very selective since it’s only 20 people per year. So maybe I should worry more about being accepted, than the monetary aspect ;).

Apart from that I am really glad that I started my ERE journey this year and signed up for the forum. Writing these posts keeps me headed in the right direction and engaged. It feels like a long road ahead though.

I might (or might not) do a 2020 review post at some point but I am still feeling a bit emotionally drained from winter so I will keep this one short for now.

Happy new years everyone.

Goals

Completed
  • Cancel 1 subscription (Financials)
  • Run Half Marathon (Health)
  • Finish selling stuff from cellar (Reduction)
Progress
  • Try to develop some routines at home (Enjoyment)
Facepalm
  • Finish clearing out cabin (Reduction)
  • Make follow-up appointments at doctors (Health)
Financials
  • As expected december saw more expenses because of xmas, end of year and lots of birthdays
  • Savings rate: 34% (Not very happy about that but I’ll write this month off and not try to be too negative about it)
  • I feel like I’ve hit a wall without doing major life changes but also learning is a step-function for me so I think I’ll stick it out for Q1. Especially because work stuff is kind of uncertain at the moment
Reduction
  • Threw out all the trash at the cabin but the big stuff is on hold because of lockdown.
  • All the stuff from the cellar is either sold or on ebay and will be sold shortly
Health
  • Running: 207 KM
  • Cycling: 51 KM
  • I ran a half marathon and did lot’s of runs alone and with my running partner. I am really enjoying running these days. Unfortunately I had some knee pain after the half marathon (it was a bit hilly and I wasn’t prepared for that). Next goal is a marathon in March
  • Cycling is fun when the weather is decent but I generally don’t enjoy cycling around in the cold and dark, so not so much cycling these days
  • I’ve started a stretching routine in the morning which so far has been going well
  • Looking back from 12 months ago I lost about 4kg. Unfortunately I am now in the zone where my clothes look a bit weird because they’re all a bit too big. Otherwise it feels good
  • I’ve started meditating in the evenings over the holidays. I found that it improved my sleep and I felt a bit more relaxed. It’s not been very consistent though. I’ll try to keep it up.
  • Mental health wise I am doing ok but not great. Lockdown + Winter depression + being single is a lot to deal with. I am managing ok but it does not feel great. I am trying to to a CBT workbook to keep moving forward.
ERE Skills
  • Food wise I am doing well. Lot’s of cooking
  • I am also generally buying things on sale and trying to temper my spending. I did break down though and bought myself some clothes for running for xmas (socks, shoes, shirt)
  • I am struggeling with aquiring new skills that need tools and material. E.g. I want to learn about woodworking to make some furniture but I think I’d need to buy some tools because all the open workspaces are closed because of covid and certain tools are not borrowable via friends. I am wondering if I am too focused on financial savings at the moment and because of that am holding back on building skills that will help me in the long run.
Enjoyment
  • I’ve been thinking about dating again and coming around to the idea that the process can be fun. Since I am very much on the introverted side I’ve always found it stressful but doing some reading & thinking I’ve come to the conclusion that I want to change my outlook. I tend to overthink and make things more serious than they should be. I’ve met a woman that I am getting along with quite well but there are some complicating factors (that I don’t want to go into details about out of respect for her & mine privacy) that would make going fast a risky proposition. So I have decided to take it slow (which is unfortunately what I always do, but then it does actually seem justified this time) and get to know her better. I’ve decided to try to make the getting-to-know phase fun even though it still makes me anxious. I try to tell myself that having butterflies is a good thing and worst case I found a new friend.
  • I also decided to try to have a regular date night despite being single. This entails either meeting friends or doing something nice for myself (watching a movie, cooking some nice food, …). I hope this get’s me in the habit of doing something enjoyable on a regular basis. Also a regular date night is something I would very much like to institute in future relationships since it’s easy to get overwhelmed by life/work. Esp. if one is not ERE/Semi-ERE.
Goals for January 2021
  • Get back on track with saving (Financials)
  • Read 4 books (ERE Skills)
  • Do a small woodworking project (ERE Skills)
  • Make follow-up appointments at doctors (Health)
  • Keep up running pace (150km per month) (Health)
  • 1 date night a week (Enjoyment)
  • Try to be less socially anxious and improve self image (Enjoyment)

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

Review January 2021

January was an eventful month for me. Work wise it was kind of slow because one of my biggest clients is sizing down. Also it was the beginning of the year with COVID so things have been really slow. I barely made enough money to pay for my expenses but no extra buffer was added. I did start to date again which made me feel good. The woman I am dating is definitely interested in FIRE/frugality and we share a lot of hobbies like running, cycling and the outdoors. It has been fun dating someone I can talk about these things with. I am hopeful for the relationship but there are some potential things on the horizon that might mean she has to move for work. We talked about this openly and both see it as an issue but also have some ideas on how to move forward. It’s a bit complicated though and I feel a little nervous about it. I do however have a flexible job and want to become more adventurous so there is also potential here. It would also mean moving between two places regularly which is something I want to set up my life for anyway.

I am also very much in the first weeks of the dating high. This means we spent a lot of time together and other personal projects went on the back burner. I am fine with that though. It’s important for me to take this time and enjoy it and not always see a problem with it. I am sure things will slow down eventually so I am trying to enjoy it while it lasts.

This is also the reason, why this update is short and late ;)

Goals

Completed
  • 1 a week (Enjoyment)
  • Read 4 books (ERE Skills)
  • Get back on track with saving (Financials)
Progress
  • Try to be less socially anxious and improve self image (Enjoyment)
  • Keep up running pace (150km per month) (Health)
Facepalm
  • Do a small woodworking project (ERE Skills)
  • Make follow-up appointments at doctors (Health)
Financials
  • Savings rate: 41% - This is right on the 40% target which I consider my first goal
  • My spending is still higher than Sep, Oct, Nov of last year but lower than December
  • I think my savings rate got by a higher than usual income through selling some stuff from the cellar
  • I’m slowly approaching the 100K NW milestone which feels like a big step. I hope I can make it happen by middle of 2021.
  • Saving and managing finances still feels like an uphill battle. I am locked in middle class lifestyle. I am realizing that living in a HCOL-area makes the choice easy and the choice hard for me. I think I need to build more routines to combat this tendency or actually consider moving.
  • My health insurance went up by almost 100 EUR/month this year which really sucks. Health insurance is now more than living costs incl. food, internet, etc combied. Insurances sit at 36% of my spending with housing and rent being 29%. I am locked in though because of chronic health issues which really sucks. I found out that I can get a tax advantage between 200 and 500 EUR / year if I qualify as some degree (which I technically do but have to claim it). I think I will try to go down that road this year. I didn’t before because of the mental stigma and I didn’t feel I was severely enough impacted (compared to other people) so I just felt bad. But I am realising that this condition IS having an impact on my life and finances and it’s only fair to claim the small advantages I can get.
Reduction
  • I put one cabinet on ebay and re-organized the stuff to fit into the rest of the storage. This is another 2% reduction in storage space. Starting from August 2020 I am down by 35%. I think my goal is to be down by 50% by Q3 2021.
  • All the stuff from the cellar is finally sold
  • I think the next categories for me are electronics (I want to get rid of my NAS since it’s using electricity all the time and takes up space) and some boardgames.
Health
  • Running: 132 KM
  • Cycling: 40 KM
  • Running is down a bit. I had a stomach issue for a week and started dating so that threw my routine a bit.
  • Cycling is still limited to errands
  • My stretching and daily workout routine is still going but the time of day fluctuates
  • Weight is stable. I’d like to get a bit heavier though.
  • Meditation didn’t happen this month
  • Mental health is good because of dating
ERE Skills
  • January didn’t feel like a great month here
Enjoyment
  • I started dating again, which has improved my mood significantly
Goals for February 2020
  • Get rid of NAS (Reduction)
  • Empty 1 shelf of board games (Reduction)
  • Read 4 books (ERE Skills)
  • Keep up running pace (150km per month) (Health)
  • Get back to normal Income (Financials)
  • Take some time to brainstorm ideas and adjust ERE plan (Enjoyment)

NuncFluens
Posts: 221
Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2020 6:25 am
Location: Bavaria, Germany

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by NuncFluens »

Wow, that running volume is awesome. I'm recovering from my bad knee right now, but that's definitely something I'll strive for. How long did it take you to build up to ~150km/month and how did you do it?

disk_poet
Posts: 125
Joined: Thu Aug 06, 2020 3:33 am

Re: disk_poets road towards semi-ERE

Post by disk_poet »

@NuncFluens: Sorry to hear about the bad knee. I read about it in your journal. I also had a bad knee for a while and it still flares up on long cycles or downhill running. I basically started doing a stretching routine based on the Egoscue book that was recommended somehwere on the forum and just started building up slowly. I basically do 2 runs of 10-14km during the week and 1 long run on the weekend. I found having someone to run with really helped me. I also use an app called "Streaks" to log 3 runs each week and that keeps me motivated too. I can send you my stretching routine via PM if you're interested (it's in German and I copied it from the library book). I plan on doing more trail-running/hiking but I think I need to build up slowly because downhill really messes with my knee. I am planning on doing more stabilizing training on a balance board I borrowed while watching some TV or listening to a podcast. I've heard that also helps. What have you been doing regarding your knee? Any tips?

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